


The Last Defense on Earth

by apokfan (writing1swat)



Series: The Last Defense [3]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angel!Castiel, BAMF Castiel, BAMF Winchesters, Crazy!Dean, Dark, Deaths, Fallen!Castiel, Gen, Hell, Lucifer!Sam, Michael!Dean, WIP (work in progress), You Have Been Warned, canon violence, character list subject to change, lots of tag, not a happy ending sorry, soldier!Castiel, soulless!dean, tagging as I go along
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-25
Updated: 2014-03-05
Packaged: 2018-01-13 16:48:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1233859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writing1swat/pseuds/apokfan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU to season 4 and beyond Lucifer walks the earth and there is no peace, just chaos.<br/>Soulless!Dean, eventual Michael!Dean, Lucifer!Sam<br/><strong>The last part in the trilogy.</strong></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is it! The final part in the trilogy! As I said in my last two stories, there isn't going to be much of a happy ending. I'm sorry guys. Just a head's up so if you like happy endings, you probably shouldn't be reading this series.

Lucifer opened his eyes to see the blue sky overhead. He blinked and sat up to examine his new limbs carefully. It had truly been too long since he could stretch and stand, move about as he pleased. Being stuck down in the Pit, trapped inside a cage built by angels to contain the very Devil himself…that was a period in time Lucifer did not want to delve into right now. He laughed hysterically. By God he was free! It felt almost like a dream but Lucifer knew it wasn’t. The ground underneath him was real, oh so very real. He could touch it. He could smooth his hand over concrete. Lucifer sucked in a deep breath.

Birds chirped over his head and the sun danced high in the sky. Everything was beautiful. This precious gift of a planet that was created by his Father. Lucifer loved it. Cherished it. Looking around, the Devil could see that the building was in ruins, obliterated by the opening of the cage. He saw a body underneath the rubble. He searched through Sammy’s memories for a name. Ruby. Lucifer rose to his feet then. He never liked humans but demons? He liked even less.

Lucifer walked out into the open world.

 

 

On the first day, Maryland succumbed to mysterious fires that engulfed huge cities within just hours. The total death toll count was 1.5 million. The fire department from all over the cities could not put out the fire. Eventually they thought it a lost cause and ordered immediate evacuation out of the state. However by midnight the fires had died down by themselves. No one realized it was because Lucifer, the very Devil himself, had crossed state line by then and moved on to West Virginia.

 

 

Earthquakes and fissures, large gusts of winds came to Virginia on the fourth day. Lucifer watched as humans huddled together in large groups, as they got in vehicles and drove down busy streets nearly plowing into people in their hurry to get home. Lucifer didn’t understand what motivated his Father to make these pathetic creatures and then dare to tell his greatest creations to love them. He delved into Sammy Winchester’s head searching for answers he knew wouldn’t be there, searching for reasons he knew didn’t exist. Lucifer watched the human race squirm further from under his boot.

 

 

With Lucifer, rose the four horsemen of the apocalypse. War. Pestilence. Famine. Death. Lucifer smiled at each one of them. “Welcome, my brothers,” he said, then gestured widely with outstretched arms. “Welcome to your new home. Your new…playground.” Lucifer looked around him. He stood center in Iowa. People had crowded around him by now, watching in horrified fascination as the earth quaked from under them as he released his brethren of chaos and destruction. “Run wild.”

 

 

Heaven was in utter chaos by the first week of Lucifer’s release. Castiel was seen as a traitor, in an indirect way, he had a hand to the release of the Devil. While most angels bickered amongst themselves on what to do with Castiel, Uriel stepped in to his defense and at the council’s meeting that night, Michael finally made his move.

“Castiel clearly did not know the consequences of his actions,” Michael said firmly. “He did not know that by raising Dean Winchester from Hell without his soul, he would be inadvertently leading Samuel Winchester straight toward Lucifer’s hands. None of us could foresee that Samuel would say ‘yes’ to the Devil.”

“Liar! We all know you had the prophet at your disposal. You could’ve easily asked him,” accused Raphael.

The table roared to life as the angels fought over the issue. Michael hushed them again. “The prophet can only see so far ahead,” Michael told his brothers and sisters. “We have no reason to be fighting each other. We have not lost this war yet.”

“Lucifer is free now. How is that not a loss?” An older angel demanded.

Michael smiled sadly. “Because there is still a way to beat the Devil, my brothers.”

“Dean Winchester.” Zachariah piped up. The angels murmured to each other. “He is the ‘Michael Sword’. Michael’s true vessel.”

“The soulless heathen?” Raphael asked sending a chilling glance to Castiel.

Castiel refused to cower under the heat of the glare. 

Michael nodded. “You have my word, brothers, sisters, when I go down to earth in my vessel, I will smite our fallen brother, Lucifer. I will not rest until he is dealt with, even if I have to smite the whole human race with him.”

Castiel hung his head in shame. Billions of lives would be wasted in Michael’s wrath and Lucifer’s vengeance. This was his fault. And he was going to find a way to fix this. Castiel needed to get to Dean before Michael. 

 

 

Castiel found Dean in the remains of what was once Iowa a day later. Dean Winchester turned to the angel.

“What can I do for you, Cas?”

Castiel shook his head and reached out to touch the hunter’s arm. He could feel the handprint he left under the material of Dean’s jacket. Dean raised an eyebrow, “Well aren’t you Mister Touchy today?”

“I am not in the mood for your jokes, Dean,” Castiel said, closing his eyes and concentrating on carving the sigils into the hunter’s bones. 

Dean jumped in shock and pulled back as Castiel finished. He let go and watched as Dean stumbled away from him. “What the hell did you do?” Dean demanded.

“I just warded you against angels,” Castiel replied.

Dean chewed the bottom of his lips with a deep frown. “Why? I thought you angels are the good guys.”

“Not anymore I’m afraid,” Castiel said quietly. “I was wrong, Dean. I was so wrong.”

“Huh.”

Castiel tilted his head up to the sky. He didn’t have much time left. The angels in Heaven were going frantic over the sudden loss of Dean Winchester. Castiel had effectively cut Dean from the grid. But soon Michael would realize that Castiel had gone from Heaven and would put two and two together. Castiel had considered carving the sigils on his vessel’s body as well but he was sure that would serve only to send him back to Heaven.

He needed Jimmy Novak still. Castiel turned to Dean. “I don’t have much time left, Dean. Listen to me carefully. If you see an angel, you need to run. Do not say ‘yes’ to anything they ask. Do you hear me? You have to say ‘no’.”

“Why? What’s going on, Cas?”

“Michael will be looking for you because you are his vessel. Do not let him in, or billions of people will die.” Castiel had to go now. If he stayed any longer…

Castiel watched as Dean struggled to digest what he was saying. “I have to go now. If I stay any longer, they’ll track me here to you. I cannot let Michael get ahold of you, Dean.”

Dean sighed. “It’s a lot to take in. I mean, one minute you’re telling me you’re the ‘good’ guy and I’m the future of humanity and now you’re saying the opposite.”

“I know. I’m sorry,” Castiel told him sincerely. “I was tricked, Dean. I had been played the fool by my brothers and sisters.”

“That sucks,” Dean said. “So where are you going now?”

“I don’t know,” Castiel admitted. “I thought I was doing right by serving Heaven, serving God. Then Uriel told me I had in reality been serving him.”

“Uriel’s a dick,” Dean said.

Castiel smirked. “That is one way to put it.” Castiel often wondered what Dean would have been like had he had a soul. He imagined Dean to be quite a character, like Sam Winchester. “I…think I know where to go now.”

Dean perked up. “Where?”

But Castiel was already gone.

 

 

It was such a long shot Castiel wasn’t sure why he was considering it. He had even told Sam Winchester it was hopeless. Dean’s soul had been in Hell for decades now, lifetimes spent tearing through souls until nothing could remain. For all Castiel knew he was right and Dean Winchester was no more. But at the same time, he could be wrong. Who else had lasted a century without actually turning into a demon? John Winchester. 

If there was any hope that remained for humanity, it lay with the Righteous Man.

 

 

On the second day of Castiel’s self-imposed exile, Castiel ached for home. He ached for his brothers and sisters that used to always be there at arm’s length to guide him. He felt a deep sadness for Anna who was able to see past the well hidden lies to a truth that Castiel could not even hope to have comprehended. Castiel looked around him to find himself standing at a crossroad in Mississippi. 

He fell to his knees and clawed at the dirt. How far he sunk to be at a crossroad down on his knees ready to summon a demon. Castiel wondered if there would be any redemption left for something so pitiful as he. Just as he finished burying a box, Castiel rose to his feet.

“Well, well, isn’t this a very interesting sight…a little angel so far from home. Lost, are we?” Crowley eyed the lump of dirt under Castiel’s feet. “Or maybe not.”

Castiel clenched his jaw as he turned to the man. “You are the demon, Crowley?”

“Who wants to know?” Crowley asked.

“I am Castiel,” Castiel said. 

“Well…Castiel, maybe I am. How can I help you on this lovely night tonight?”

Castiel took in a deep breath. “I need your help getting into Hell.”


	2. Chapter 2

Bobby always knew he would die bloody. It was the gig. Once you were a hunter, you were in it for life. There was no two ways ‘bout it. He just hadn’t thought it’d come down to this, the fucking end of the world. The Apocalypse. And to be smack dab in the middle of everything? With angels and demons and everything in between? Yeah he hadn’t considered anything even remotely close to the situation he was caught up in now. 

A fire engulfed Maryland. Earthquakes destroyed Virginia. There was a flood in Washington. It went on and on as the days passed and Bobby wasn’t even sure why he was still tuning into the slow destruction of the world. So far, and Bobby wasn’t sure if it was any thanks to God or angels or whatever else was fighting this war, South Dakota had been well left alone. For the time being. Probably next week he could be sure of a hurricane hitting. But for now, there was nothing. Not a hint of rain even.

The phone rang and Bobby got up to retrieve it from the kitchen. He checked the caller ID and lifted his eyebrows in surprise. Rufus fucking Turner. “Dammit, Rufus, is that really you? I hadn’t heard from you in months!”

“I know, Bobby.” There was a long pause. “Look ain’t got time to play catch up with you, as good as it is to hear some kind of familiar voice…Sam and Dean with ya?”

Bobby frowned into the phone before realizing Rufus couldn’t see it. He opened his mouth to respond when he suddenly heard something like a gun going off. “The hell was that?” Bobby burst.

“Ran into a town full of demons. They…they got Jo and Ellen, lots of other folks.”

Bobby cursed. “Where are you?”

“River Pass, Colorado. Get your ass over here ‘cos I don’t think I can do this by myself.”

“I’m coming.” Bobby promptly hung up, grabbed his gear and headed out to his truck. “Pam! Going out for a few days. Don’t wait up.” He didn’t bother to wait for her response.

 

**River Pass, Colorado**

Rufus Turner was in way over his head. He hadn’t seen the Winchester boys in months, hell, he hadn’t even been in contact with Bobby Singer since that time with the angel chick. What was her name? Anna, right. He fumbled with the cell in his hand and speed dialed Bobby. He knew Bobby was going to rip him a new one from the silence on his end, especially with the whole ‘apocalypse now’ thing they got going. Rufus could feel his hands shaking. He chanced a glance around to make sure none the demons had found him yet. 

Rufus cursed his stupidity for taking this case by himself the way he did. He knew he was an arrogant son of bitch. He was a damn good hunter but something about this had felt wrong from the get-go and Rufus really should’ve used his brain and squashed that damn pride when he had the chance. 

“Water under the damn bridge now,” Rufus muttered to himself as he listened to the echoing rings. “Come on, damn you, pick the hell up.”

Bobby Singer picked up on the third ring. His gruff voice felt like a godsend. “Dammit, Rufus, is that really you? I hadn’t heard from you in months!”

“I know, Bobby,” Rufus said in a hushed voice, peering behind him for a second when he thought he heard movement. Fucking paranoia. “Look ain’t got time to play catch up with you, as good as it is to hear some kind of familiar voice…Sam and Dean with ya?”

There was silence on the other end and Rufus felt his heart lurch. Something wasn’t right and Bobby wasn’t going to tell him. There was a creak on the porch and Rufus looked up to see Jo standing in front of him with a rifle pointed at him. He cursed under his breath and fired a warning shot. The possessed girl ducked around the corner again, probably going back to her posse of demons to report his location.

Damn now Rufus had to move. “The hell was that?” Bobby demanded on the other end as Rufus ran from the rickety old house. 

“Ran into a town full of demons,” Rufus panted into the phone. “They…they got Jo and Ellen, lots of other folks.”

“Where are you?” was Bobby’s next question.

Rufus told him where he was. “Get your ass over here ‘cos I don’t think I can do this by myself.”

“I’m coming,” Bobby promised and then promptly hung up. 

It took Bobby a day to drive to Colorado to where Rufus had taken refuge in an abandoned house. Used to be someone’s home but since the demons had taken over the place, things had been more than a little chaotic and a lot of things including houses and cars, had been dumped, forgotten.

“What in Hell’s name happened here?” Bobby demanded as Rufus ushered him inside.

“That’s what I been trying to figure out since day one,” Rufus told him. “Something ‘bout this whole thing feels…it’s wrong, Bobby. It wasn’t demons I’d been going after but here they are. It’s like a paradise for demons or something. I just…can’t make sense of how they’ve possessed all these people so fast without my noticing.”

Bobby frowned. “Take me through from the very beginning. What were you hunting here?”

Rufus took a deep breath and went up the stairs to fetch the bible. He was careful to stay away from all the windows lest they spotted him and started shooting. He went back down when he found the bible sitting on the bed where he last left it. Bobby was hunched in his chair at the table. He looked up when Rufus dropped the little book in front of him.

“I was looking for omens,” Rufus explained. 

“Omens? Like for the apocalypse?” Bobby asked as he picked the book up and started flipping through it.

Rufus nodded, seating himself opposite the other hunter. “Yeah.”

“Well what do you think the demons got to do with here?”

Rufus shrugged. Hell if he knew. “That’s the thing…they just showed up outta nowhere. Started possessing people left and right. I don’t get it, Bobby.”

“Well I guess that makes two of us,” Bobby said.

 

 

**Mississippi**

“You want me to help you get into what now?”

Castiel stared down the demon. He was growing impatient. “Hell,” he repeated.

“Hell,” Crowley echoed. The demon was looking at Castiel with interest now. Castiel shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. “Just to clarify, you want me to take you, an angel, into Hell. Right?”

“Yes,” Castiel answered impatiently. 

“May I ask why?”

Castiel sighed. It wasn’t any of the demon’s business but he realized if he didn’t answer the question, Crowley would more than likely leave him here. “I need to raise a man’s soul.”

“Out of Hell,” Crowley said.

“Yes,” Castiel said, scowling. “I don’t have time for this. If you will not assist then I will look elsewhere.”

Crowley lifted a brow. “If you could’ve looked elsewhere, angel, I’m sure you wouldn’t be here,” he pointed out. “Consulting with a demon. My, my, I wonder what Heaven thinks of you now.”

Castiel sighed. “They do not know of any of this. And it will remain that way if you wish to keep living.”

Crowley lifted his hands in surrender. “Your secret’s safe with me, promise.” The demon considered the angel in front of him. “I might know a way or two getting in. Whose soul are we saving tonight?”

“The righteous man,” Castiel replied.

“What’s in it for me if I help you?” Crowley asked after a moment.

Castiel tilted his head. “Is your life not good enough?”

The demon barked a laugh and shook his head. “As much as I value my life, I can easily just leave you here dangling. Nu-uh, angel, that’s not how deals work. Surely you have something to exchange with?”

Castiel pursed his lips. “Lucifer back in his cage.”

Crowley looked at the angel skeptically. “This ‘righteous man’…he good enough to beat the Devil?”

“I am not sure but I would like to believe so,” Castiel replied.

Crowley shook his head. “Not good enough, I’m afraid.”

“My soul then?” Castiel offered. He still wasn’t sure if angels had souls.

Crowley made a face. “Angel souls? No thanks.” At Castiel’s confusion, he explained, “Your soul wouldn’t do any good in Hell. Human souls are easily corruptible, that’s why they become demons after a while in Hell. But angels? Can’t turn them into demons I’m afraid. Look. I’ll be a nice guy tonight because I do want to see Luci back in his cage. It wouldn’t quite be the same if he keeps killing all my fine potential customers now would it? Let’s go rescue your princess, shall we?”


	3. Chapter 3

Crowley didn’t wait for Castiel to reply. He snapped his fingers and took them to the back of an alley in Warsaw, Missouri. He turned around to face the angel with a raised brow as Castiel studied their new surroundings. 

“Where have you taken us?” Castiel blurted.

“This is Missouri,” Crowley said appreciating the graffiti covered walls. “There are only a few places, cracks in the borders if you will, where demons can slip through. This is one of them.”

Castiel traced a hand over the walls, frowning. He could feel a faint pulse under his skin. He shifted away as Crowley moved forward to press his hands on the painted graffiti. A burst of white light sprang from the wall. Castiel watched as the light slowly formed a door. A doorway to Hell.

“The way into Hell is through Purgatory,” Crowley informed the angel.

Castiel pursed his lip before nodding. He hadn’t used this way when he infiltrated Hell the first time but Castiel had heard of Purgatory. That was where monsters went when they died.

“Are you ready, angel?” Crowley asked.

Castiel nodded again knowing there was no going back now. “Yes. Let’s go.” They entered through the shimmering portal.

 

 

**River Pass, Colorado**

Jo Harvelle knew the world had gone bonkers and it had something to do with the Winchesters. It always did. Jo and Mom had been nearby when they got a frantic call from Rufus Turner, a hunter that came by the Roadhouse every now and again. Rufus was a good friend of Bobby’s. Been hunting partners back in the day from what Jo got from Mom. Mom didn’t talk a whole lot ‘bout back then, probably it was because it hurt to think much about the past. And Jo understood that, really she did. She knew Mom missed Dad a hell lot, especially with the way things were these days.

Sometimes Jo wished Dad was still alive and here to fix this, to fix Mom. Because back in Jo’s head she missed Mom too. It turned out, all that dreaming about taking up hunting like the Winchester brothers came true after all. Here Jo sat in this demon infested town with a gun strapped to her back and a knife in her boot, looking for signs of the possessed.

Rufus had been vague on the phone. He didn’t say anything about hunting demons but the moment Jo and Mom arrived in town, it was clear they were going to be a lot busy. Jo managed, by this point, to take down two or three and injure one demon. If Dean Winchester was here he’d have given her a grin and a pat on the back.

What was weird though, was that the demons hadn’t been fazed by the usual holy water to the face, hadn’t so much as reacted to salt either. Jo also looked for sulfur. She hadn’t found a single one.

 

 

**Purgatory**

Castiel and Crowley trekked through the woods. It was oddly quiet for being ‘monster afterlife’. Castiel expected rogue monsters to burst from the foliage. Crowley looked back to Castiel with a grin. 

“How good is your fighting, angel?” the demon asked.

Castiel eyed Crowley warily. “Very. Why?”

“I expect we’ll run into a vamp or two before we get there,” Crowley replied easily.

Just as the angel opened his mouth to speak, the ground shook. Castiel whirled around, taking out the angel blade from his trench coat as he moved to a defensive stance. As the demon predicted, a vampire shot out from the trees, hurtling itself towards Castiel. In a flash, Castiel sliced clean through one of its arms. The vampire tumbled forward with an anguished howl.

“Nice one,” Crowley commented looking between the vampire lying on the ground and the severed arm at their feet. He moved casually to the side as the vampire clambered to its feet, swaying. Blood was gushing from the stump.

Castiel could see the bones inside. Taking a more offensive stance this time, Castiel edged closer to the vampire. He hoped it would be scared off now that it had lost a limb. The vampire snarled at Castiel and lunged again. Castiel ducked from a wild swing, claws slashing through air. It whirled around and tried again but Castiel was faster. He stabbed the blade into its belly and watched as it stopped, blinking in surprise. Blood spilled from the wound.

The vampire crumpled to the ground and Castiel didn’t hesitate to pull the blade out. After a moment’s consideration, he beheaded it for good measure. Crowley stood back, whistling in appreciation at Castiel’s kill. Castiel ignored it, shaking the blood off from the blade before tucking it back into his coat. 

“Let’s continue,” he told Crowley.

Crowley raised an eyebrow but didn’t comment. 

 

 

It took them hours to reach the portal that connected Purgatory to Hell. Castiel peered at the shimmering air curiously. The air here felt heavy and hot and Castiel knew without a doubt this was it, the place he needed to be. Crowley took no notice to Castiel’s apprehension. He entered without a word, without even waiting for Castiel. The angel took a deep breath and followed in.

 

 

**The Border of Iowa and Missouri**

Dean was having trouble getting what Castiel said out of his head. About the angels. That Castiel had been tricked and that meant Dean had too. He bit the bottom of his lips as he drove through the state border. He wondered what his brother was doing right now. Dean pulled out his cell and decided it was worth a shot. He did promise Sam they’d have a talk sometime. While the world was being pulled apart at the seams was good a time as any.

He pressed speed dial on Sam’s name and waited for him to pick up. Dean got an automated voice telling him the number had been disconnected. Dean sighed. He dialed Bobby’s number next. It rang a few times before it was answered.

“Hey, Bobby,” he said into phone.

There was a long pause before, “ _Dean_?”

“Yeah. It’s me.”

“You damn _idjit_. Where the hell have you been?” Bobby demanded.

“Around,” Dean said vaguely.

“Around?” Bobby’s voice was incredulous. “Dammit, boy! You’ll have to do a whole lot better than that. Why haven’t you at least called me? And where’s your goddamn brother?”

Dean sighed as he pulled up into a motel. “Chill, will ya? I’m calling you now, aren’t I? Look, I’m sorry I haven’t been keeping you all that informed lately but I had a lot on my plate. I was with Cas.”

“Cas? As in the angel?”

“Yeah, as in the angel. Things been going wonky up in Heaven,” Dean said as he killed the engine and took the key out. He got out the Impala and slipped into the motel. Dean then ordered a room for the night as he listened to Bobby sigh on the other end. He sounded weary.

“Things are wonky where I’m at too. River Pass, Colorado. Got a call from Rufus and I drove all the way here. Turns out the whole town is infested with demons,” Bobby said.

Dean slid the door open and shucked his jacket on the bed. He perched on the nearest chair. “Town full of demons…huh. Need a hand?” Dean asked. 

“Sure could use all the help we can get. We’re stumped here. Where are ya at anyway?” Bobby asked.

“Just entered Missouri. Came from Iowa,” Dean replied.

“Iowa…”

“Got flooded recently,” Dean said. He furrowed his brows suddenly. “Say, Bobby, when you asked earlier…’bout Sam, that mean you hadn’t heard from him?”

“Not a damn word.”

“His number got disconnected again,” Dean informed him.

“Yeah I know. When you took off without a word with that damn angel of yours…Sam and I…we weren’t on such good terms. We parted ways and except for a few cases he got from that demon, Ruby, we didn’t see much of each other,” Bobby explained. “You heard from him?”

Dean shook his head before he realized Bobby couldn’t see it. “No. Last I saw him was when I was tracking down Alastair.”

“Alastair?”

“Demon,” Dean replied. “Got a history with that son of a bitch down under. But it’s water under the bridge now.” Dean looked around the room. As far as cheap motels went this had to be one of the plainest he’d seen. “When you want me over?”

“As soon as you can be here,” Bobby said. “I know it’s late–“

“I’m not too tired. I’ll drive through the night and be there sometime tomorrow,” Dean promised before hanging up.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man I really wish someone corrected me about the state. It's not River Pass, Mississippi. It's Colorado. I even had Colorado in one of the paragraphs but made the mistake in the setting. It's fixed now.

**One day later**  
 **River Pass, Colorado**

Dean kept to his word, not that Bobby ever doubted him. The kid always did have a one track mind. Bobby figured he got that from good ol’ John. Unsurprisingly Sam was nowhere to be seen. It still was weird to see Dean get out of the Impala by himself and deep down Bobby felt it was just…wrong.

A lot of things were wrong. The world for one. Things have been happening lately that Bobby chalked up to the apocalypse, but somehow it felt bigger than that. And Bobby almost thought it could be connected to Sam’s absence. But how?

Bobby got straight to business, filling Dean in on what they had so far, which was close to nada. Rufus had called Bobby, and apparently Jo and her mom, Ellen. As soon as the three hunters arrived, they split off to cover more ground and somehow Jo and Ellen both got overtaken by demons. The rest of the town was as good as gone too. But the real kicker was that Rufus hadn’t originally come for demons. In fact he hadn’t even seen a trace of sulfur anywhere.

Bobby trusted Rufus with his life, plus he took a look as well and came up with the same result. Before Dean arrived, the two men had encountered a small group of demons by an abandoned convenient store. They managed to nab one before he could get away and Bobby tried everything in the damn book. Other than black eyes, the guy could be a regular Joe. He didn’t react to holy water, managed to crawl his way out of Devil’s Trap even.

It left the hunters baffled. 

It was then that Dean picked up the bible from the table and flipped through it, landing on a page that looked eerily familiar. “Wait, wait. Hold on. Stop there. Lemme see that,” Rufus ordered.

Dean handed it over without protest.

“I remember this now,” Rufus mumbled. “I…’And there fell a great star from Heaven, burning like a torch, and it fell upon a river, and the name of the star was Wormwood, and many men died’. Son of a bitch. Bobby, I think I know what we’re dealing with now.”

Rufus slammed the book closed and got up, worry etching fine lines on his face. “I remember exactly why I came here now. There was this river nearby, it just suddenly ran polluted for no reason I could spot.”

“Was that Revelation 8:10 you just read?” Bobby asked trying to make sense of the new information. 

“Yeah,” Rufus said. “Omens point to the Four Horsemen. More specifically: War.”

Once the hunters knew what it was they were dealing with and it was almost certainly wasn’t demons, it felt infinitely times easier, a great weight lifted from Bobby’s shoulders he hadn’t even known was there. It was tough convincing Jo and Ellen no one in town was possessed and even tougher to ignore the black eyes but somehow they managed both. The town folks were scared shitless and once Bobby managed to get Jo and Ellen back on their side, they all got it in their heads that both Jo and Ellen got possessed. Inconvenient and annoying.

They eventually managed to corner War by his Cherry Mustang out front and chopped off the ring that controlled all the hallucinations.

All in all, Bobby called it a successful day. Even with the creep’s parting words.

“Even if you managed to stop me, you can’t stop the rest of my brothers, and you certainly cannot stop _him_.”

Bobby tried to ignore the chill that ran down his spine.

 

 

Dean was out on the road again. Bobby wanted him to come back with him so that he could at least keep an eye on one Winchester but Dean couldn’t find a reason to stay. There were things out there that needed to be stopped; evil, the apocalypse, the other three Horsemen. Even without Sam, Dean was still a warrior at heart. And this restlessness he felt didn’t seem to ever go away and it scared Bobby. Dean wasn’t dumb. He saw the way the hunter looked at him sometimes. And Dean knew he wasn’t really wanted, not really.

So Dean drove and drove, from one motel to the next, one hunt to another. 

 

 

There was a time, a long time ago it felt like, that Dean would dream. Now when he closed his eyes all he saw was black.

 

 

An angel came to Dean when he was in Kansas City, Missouri to hunt down a witch making deals with a demon. He closed his eyes briefly and there he was.

“My name is Zachariah,” the angel told him.

“Awesome. A winged dick,” Dean said.

“You’re a hard man to find these days, Dean,” the angel said, ignoring Dean’s comment.

Dean grinned, all white teeth showing. “Yet you managed to find me. Congrats, man.”

“Not exactly. Dreams are just easier to see. We still don’t have a clue where you are,” Zachariah told him.

“I don’t dream though,” Dean said. “I haven’t dreamed since before I went to Hell.”

Zachariah shook his head. “Soul or not, everybody dreams.”

“Do all the angels know about my missing soul?” Dean wondered.

Zachariah smiled sadly. “Yes. But that’s not why I’m here, Dean.”

“You want to get me to say ‘yes’,” Dean guessed. The angel looked back at him in surprise and Dean barked a laugh. “Cas warned me about you douches.”

“’Warned’ you?” Zachariah echoed incredulously. He cocked his head to the side in an eerily familiar way. “What did you think we were going to convince you to say ‘yes’ to exactly? Letting Lucifer wear you to the prom?”

“No. Michael,” Dean said. “I’m not gonna let Michael wear me to the prom, as you put it.”

Zachariah went silent. “You do realize your brother said ‘yes’.”

“What?”

“Sam said ‘yes’ to the Devil. He let him in,” the angel explained.

“Why would he do that?” Dean asked after a moment.

“We’re not one hundred percent sure ourselves,” Zachariah admitted. “But we’re convinced it had something to do with Castiel not bringing your soul back.”

“My soul…what does that have to do with anything?”

“Our theory is that if Castiel was able to succeed in his mission, which was rescuing your soul before restoring your body, you with a soul would’ve successfully steered your brother away from the path he was currently heading down, which by the way was full of that demon blood bullshit.” Zachariah sighed, looking world weary. “Now because of that one screw-up, the world has to pay ten folds.”

“You’re putting a lot of blame on Cas, but what about the rest of you? You’ve done a real piss poor job protecting the seals,” Dean pointed out.

Zachariah scowled. “We wouldn’t have had to protect the seals if you didn’t break the first one, you little cockroach.”

Dean raised an eyebrow. “It was Hell. I was under the impression everyone broke at one time or other.”

“Look as much as I’d love to go a few rounds on who started the end of the world, the point is, Lucifer is now free from his cage and we’re running out of options here. If you don’t say ‘yes’ to Michael there won’t be anything left on this planet and I’m sure, soul or not, you can see that’d be very, very bad,” Zachariah said.

“I was told if I let Michael in, billions of people would die,” Dean told the angel.

Zachariah shook his head and sighed. “I won’t lie to you. People will die, this is a war. But people will die regardless if Michael fights his brother or not. Lucifer lives for destruction. He could care less if the entirety of the human race fell in his hate and vengeance against Heaven.”

“And what, you care?” Dean asked.

“As hard as it is to believe, yes, there are some angels that still care about all of Father’s creations,” Zachariah said easily.

“Why should I trust you?”

The angel regarded Dean for a moment. Then he pressed two fingers to Dean’s forehead before Dean could do anything. “Here, maybe it’s better if I showed you.”

 

 

That night Zachariah showed Dean the end of the world. Lucifer had won. The Croatoan virus had spread to the very few humans left alive. Dean watched as Lucifer killed his future self without batting an eye. His fists clenched knowing he didn’t stand a chance against the Devil, not without help at least.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was in the mood to read some horror fics (genuine horror) the other day and you have no idea how disappointed I was when my search came up with pretty much nada.

**Hell**

It was hot, stifling even to Castiel’s vessel. The demon stopped and turned to him, one eyebrow raised. Castiel had no choice but to stop as well. “Well? Hell isn’t a place for the living you know,” Crowley said, gesturing widely around them. 

Castiel took the hint, looking down at Jimmy’s vessel. The heat prickled at his skin. He realized if he continued as he was, Jimmy’s body would probably melt in the matter of hours. Hell really wasn’t meant for mortals. “Shut your eyes,” Castiel said before closing his own and concentrating on getting out of his vessel. It only took a few moments. Castiel liked to think he was getting better at this. When he opened his eyes again, he saw that the demon had done what he was told. 

He looked down at himself, a shimmering ball of energy now. This was his soul. An angel’s soul. He imagined himself to look like Jimmy and transformed his soul into a replica of his vessel. Castiel tilted his head, peering down at the doppelganger crumpled at his feet. Jimmy would wake soon. It wouldn’t do to have him in Hell. Castiel leaned down and pressed two fingers to the man’s forehead and sent him back to earth. Wherever Jimmy was sent to surely must have been better than here.

He got up to find Crowley staring at him with interest. “Let’s move on,” Castiel said before Crowley could make some snide comment.

They walked along the narrow path silently. Castiel had always been morbidly curious about Hell. Hell had been forbidden to the angels. When Castiel got assigned the mission to storm Hell, he had been apprehensive. The mission to save Dean Winchester had great importance and Castiel knew failure to do so would result in something catastrophic. He was right in a way. He wondered how things would have gone had he gone back for Dean’s soul.

Would Sam have given in had he had his brother whole and by his side? Or was Lucifer too much of a temptation to resist even for a Winchester?

Castiel shook himself from the thought. What was done was done. All he knew was that he could fail this time. 

The ground began to slope after a moment. It took them fifteen minutes to reach level land again and Crowley paused by a large body of river. Castiel came to a stop beside him, looking down into the body of water. It was a sickly green and Castiel wondered if it was water at all. He leaned down further, trying to make out anything under the murky depths.

“Careful there, angel,” Crowley warned, resting a hand on his shoulder as if about to pull him back.

Then Castiel saw a face come up. A face of a man. Eyes. A nose. Mouth. Startled, Castiel fell back, gasping in surprise. “T-there’s a man in there,” he said, rising to his feet.

Crowley leaned over and examined the river. He shrugged his shoulders when he saw the man as well. “Souls get lost in there all the time,” Crowley said. He started to walk along the river, not waiting for the angel.

Castiel rushed to catch up. “You cannot just leave that man trapped like that,” Castiel said, self-righteous anger flaring up. 

Crowley didn’t stop even to look at Castiel. “I’m sure he’ll be picked up eventually. Charon’s good like that.”

“Charon?”

“The ferryman assigned to here,” the demon said.

“The ferryman,” Castiel echoed numbly. “Is this the river Styx?” 

Crowley grinned a shark’s grin. “What else could connect Purgatory to Hell?”

The river Styx was a large one that breached from Purgatory to the fifth circle of Hell. It looped around connecting most of Hell to other rivers as well. There were four ferrymen all assigned to each of the rivers in case newcomers got lost, the main one being Charon. Castiel wondered if he’d get to see the ferryman this visit. He remembered when he stormed Hell with a few other angels from his garrison. 

He hadn’t got to see much down here the last time, his focus on one thing. Now he took interest in the way the river curved around corners. The shapes of the walls looked odd. Castiel looked up to see something in the rock move. The angel startled.

Crowley paused a step, a frown on his face as he noticed the same thing. 

“Did you see that just now?”

Crowley squinted, peering closer. It was something in the rock. Something was alive within the rock. 

Castiel saw movement again. “What is it? A demon?” the angel demanded.

Crowley shook his head, evidently confused. He stepped closer to the wall and pressed his hand up to it. Just as he did so, it was almost as if the whole wall was coming to life. It shuddered under his touch. 

Castiel blinked, unsure what to make of this. “What is this?” he asked the demon, walking toward it, entranced.

“You know how Hell is a place of torment for the souls of the wicked and yada, yada, right?” Crowley said after a moment. Castiel nodded and the demon continued, stroking the wall, “Well…it’s not just demons that used to be human. Most of the stuff in Hell used to be human.”

Castiel peered closer at the jagged rocks. Oddly enough he could make out the lines and cracks as faces of helpless humans. The angel stepped away in revulsion. He needed to find Dean fast.

“Let’s go.”

“Whatever you say, angel. You’re the boss.”

 

 

Hell had nine circles. The first one, on the very top, was the first circle. It served as a place for the condemned of lesser sins. Hell spiraled down, taking you down different levels of torment depending on how great your sins were. The greatest sinners served at the very bottom in the ninth circle. Castiel knew this was where Lucifer’s cage resided, as well as Dean Winchester.

Dean didn’t belong in Hell. He may have committed a few sins, but he had been reserved a spot in Heaven. Unfortunately the demons thought otherwise and made a special exception for the Righteous Man.

Castiel followed Crowley’s lead down a steep slope to the sixth circle. It grew hotter and Castiel was glad he had sent Jimmy to safety. He could hear faint screams now, and howls of the tormented. Castiel tensed, as he heard the louder trotting of the hell hounds. Crowley pressed a finger to his mouth as a large beast made a bee line straight for the demon, growling and barking when it saw an angel with him, saliva catching on large canines.

Castiel couldn’t get past the fact that the beast, the hell hound, had a wolf shaped head and ears, a snout, and yet almost narrowed human eyes. He took an instinctive step back. The human eyes tracked his movement. There was intelligence behind it that made Castiel inwardly shudder.

Crowley didn’t seem to notice Castiel’s discomfort, bending down to scratch the beast behind an ear as if it were a dog. “This is Max,” Crowley said looking Castiel in the eye. 

 

 

**On earth**  
 **Alliance, Nebraska**

Lucifer found the antichrist in a little boy in Nebraska.

“Hey there, kid,” Lucifer said to the little boy sitting on the curb.

The boy looked up. “Hi.”

“My name’s Sam. What’s yours?”

“Jesse,” Jesse said.

“That’s a cool name.”

“Thanks,” Jesse said, then added after a moment, “Yours is cool too.”

Lucifer smiled and sat down. “Ever played ‘Cowboys and Indians’, Jesse?”


End file.
